Camaraderie and chaos take Spoleto by way of Cassette Roulette – Charleston City Paper

Hes done it all, and shes sung it all. And in Cassette Roulette, which opens May 25 at Spoleto Festival USA, Tony Award winner John Cameron Mitchell and international cabaret performer Amber Martin come together to share it all.

As with many of the best New York City friendships, Mitchell and Martin met through a mutual fairy friends salon in the mid-2000s. The two bonded over their love of music, particularly 1960s and 70s vinyls. Mitchell had been working with longtime collaborator and friend PJ DeBoy on an event to help save the celebrated gay bar and queer haven Julius from being shut down. Martin had just moved to the city after a successful stint in Portland, Oregon, and with her came her 2,000-deep collection of albums.

John said, Hey, youve got all these records and were doing a record party why dont you do it with us? Martin said. And from there the record of their budding friendship was set.

The pair are set to perform their showcase of songs, stories and characters at Spoleto this year in a show that centers on love: Love for music, art, their community and each other, tracking their now almost 20-year friendship.

In fact, Origin of Love was the name of the show they first performed together. Mitchell originally presented it as a solo show heavy on songs from his glam-rock Broadway musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Once he learned of Martins singing skills and exceptional ear for harmony, he asked her to come along and sing background.

That bloomed into the two taking center stage together and, ultimately, the creation of Cassette Roulette.

Mitchell described the show as a compendium of different parts of our lives, our musical autobiography, one that covers the pairs combined 115 years in show business. The name Cassette Roulette leans into nostalgia (a time before Spotify or even CD players) but also the shows spontaneous nature.

At every performance, the audience spins a wheel that determines which of their 70 career-spanning songs Mitchell or Martin will sing and share a story about. No one show is the same.

We tell stories as we hit that song on the wheel, Mitchell said. Its a queer art/cabaret/karaoke/everything kind of show. Theres no script. Its just pure fun and chaos and not taking things too seriously or letting the audience take things too seriously.

Mitchell, who has performed, produced and directed for the stage and screen, is now focused on giving back and creating space for his community. Based in New Orleans and coming off an acting hiatus of more than a year (largely due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike), he is starting an artist residency where he plans to bring in artists from marginalized communities, provide resources and elevate their work.

Im happy because Im doing stuff I care about, Mitchell said. Im doing gigs, Im playing and doing short films with people I meet in New Orleans, Im nurturing other peoples work, theyre working on mine. Im in the sandbox and Im having a good time.

That collaborative and generous spirit is part of how Cassette Roulette came about. Mitchell said he wanted to be able to highlight Martins gifts and her illustrious career. People dont know her as well, and once they see her, theyre like, Who is this genius? Mitchell said. Ive been luckier than her [in this business], and I want to share that, I want to share my friends work and let this help their careers.

He said it also helps not having to carry the load of a solo tour, and Martin agrees. He loves singing with me because I can harmonize with him to anything he wants to do, she said. He was also getting tired and exhausted from holding a tour the whole time. He knew about my weird, obscure past, and he wanted to push me out front.

Martin comes from a musical family: Her great-grandfather was a fiddle champion, and her mother, who also sang, taught her to harmonize at the age of 5. What a great schooling that was, she said. If you can sing harmony and listen with your ears, you can sing anything.

And singing anything is exactly what she has done her entire career. From Stevie Nicks to Dolly Parton to Janis Joplin (who was also from the same Texas area where Martin was raised) to even a little Chaka Khan and Sam Cooke, Martin has covered it all. She honors her soul and rock influences on her 2016 album, A.M. Gold, which is included in Cassette Roulette.

Or at least could be included, depending on how the wheel turns. The audience really chooses their own destiny, Martin said. One wheel is my head and one of the wheels is Johns head and we spin the wheel and whatever it lands on thats going to be spontaneous.

The spontaneity has worked in venues ranging from the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Arts (MASS MoCA), where it premiered, to the Public Theater in New York City last year.

Martin, who hasnt been to Charleston before, said she is looking forward to seeing other festival shows during her stay. Mitchell recently performed at Blackstar Symphony: The Music of David Bowie at the Gaillard Center and is excited to return, this time with his dear friend.

We are soulmates in music and friendship, and we try to share that vibe onstage, he said.

The pair will be able to do just that when they take the festival for three back-to-back performances at the Festival Hall starting May 25 at 9 p.m., with two additional performances on May 26 at 6 and 9 p.m.

Rayshaun Sandlin is an arts journalism and communications graduate of S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University

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Camaraderie and chaos take Spoleto by way of Cassette Roulette - Charleston City Paper